Handling

questions in
job interviews

COMMUNICATION

LEVEL NUMBER LANGUAGE

Upper-intermediate BS_1A12X_EN English
Goals

■ Can recognise and

understand difficult
questions typically asked in
a job interview

■ Can use advanced

strategies and phrases to
handle questions and stay
calm during an interview

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 In job interviews you have the
opportunity to demonstrate that your
suitability, knowledge and
experience is the right fit for an
employer.

There are many ways to answer

questions in an interview, and some
are definitely more effective than
others.

Let‘s learn the art of answering

questions that you might come across
in an interview.

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 job interviews

Job interviews can be stressful, but they are much easier with proper preparation.

One of the methods of preparation involves studying common interview questions

and preparing responses beforehand.

Preparing in advance will help you feel more composed and

confident in the interview itself.

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 Common interview questions

What is your greatest

professional achievement?

Where do you see

What’s your dream job?
yourself in five years?

Can you tell me a little Why are you leaving

bit about yourself? your current job?

Why do you want What are you looking

this job? for in a new position?

How did you hear

about this position?

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Common interview questions

Why should we hire you?

What do you consider to be your

weaknesses?

What are your greatest professional

strengths?

Do you have any questions for us?

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Common interview questions

? ? ???
Can ?? ?
?
? interview
common
you
?think ? ? ?
? questions?
of any other

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 Match the question with the best response strategy

A B 1. Where do you
see yourself
Summarise your Ask questions that show in five years?
qualifications and skills you have done your
and link them to the research and that show
position you are applying interest in the company
for. and what they do. 2. What are
some of your
weaknesses?

C D 3. Can you tell

me a little bit
Try to turn your about
Explain how you want to weaknesses into yourself?
continue to grow within positives. How have you
your field, keep learning tried to overcome them
and stay self-motivated. or used them to develop 4. Do you have
yourself further? any
questions for
us?

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 anecdotes

It is common in interviews to be asked to tell an anecdote or story which

relates your skills or experience. However, it can be difficult to bring the
most relevant example to mind when you are in the moment.

Let‘s consider the two anecdotal requests below.

Tell us about a time you faced a professional challenge and

how you dealt with it.

Tell us about a time you showed leadership.

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Preparing to answer an anecdotal question

Imagine you are applying for a promotion (related to your current job).
Now consider the following question: Tell me about a time you faced a
professional challenge and how you dealt with it.

Before you answer the question, read through and follow the steps below.

1
Think about the types of problems you are
likely to face in the position you are
applying for.

2
Think of a relevant problem you have dealt
with – one that demonstrates skills that
relate to the position.

3
Explain how you overcame it with sincerity
and confidence. Humour can be helpful
too.

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Answer the question

Now answer the question:

Tell your teacher about a time

you faced a professional
challenge and how you dealt
with it.

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Answer the question

? ? ? ?? ?
? ? ?
What is the most
?
difficult question you
?
have ever been asked

? ? ?
?
in a job interview?

? ?
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Tricky questions

■ Some questions are designed to be tricky. They are not asked to force you to
fail, but instead to give interviewers a sense of your suitability.
■ These sorts of questions can expose elements of a person’s character,
convictions and beliefs.

Spend some time before the interview thinking about how to

answer tricky questions.

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Answering tricky questions

■ The basic rule for any tricky question is to find a way to twist or spin the
answer around in order to emphasise a strength or positive characteristic.

Although you should spin your answers positively, they

should also reflect earnestness and honesty.

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Tricky questions

Look at the tricky questions below and answer the following questions:

1) What makes these questions difficult to answer?

2) What strategies would you employ in order to answer them?

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Answering interview questions

Analyse the questions and responses below.

Do you think the interviewee responded well? Justify your answer.

Tell me about your dream job.

What I really want to do with my life is paint. I get lost in

my oils for hours. Yes, my true passion lies on the canvas.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

In five years I can see myself in an upper-level of

management within a company, making strong leadership
decisions and garnering respect from my colleagues.

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 salary

Questions about salary can be among the hardest to answer without doing some
research. You need to find out how much the job is worth and how much your
skills and experience are worth to the employer.

Research this information before the interview to arrive

at a realistic offer.

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 Questions about pay

You are interviewing for a job within your industry and you expect a
competitive salary.
Explain how you would reply to the question below based on what you
have just learnt and based on your own experience within your
industry.

So, what sort of

salary are you _______________
looking at?

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Staying calm

■ Being able to calm your nerves is important in interviews.

■ Being composed makes it easier to answer questions in a calm manner,
meaning it is less likely you will panic when faced with a difficult question.

Mindfulness techniques such as deep breathing can help you

to calm your nerves.

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Giving a confident answer

■ It is important you appear confident and calm when answering questions.

■ Allowing yourself time to think is useful. It is certainly not a good idea to try to
answer a question in a panic or before you really know what you want to say.

Assertive body language can have a greater impact on your

confidence than you think.

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Tips for staying confident and calm

■ It is completely normal to be more nervous than usual in an interview.

■ Some of the tips below may be useful in order to give yourself time to think or
to just calm your nerves.

■ Take a sip of water: This allows you to think of a response, catch your breath or
just calm your nerves. There is no need to rush.

■ Say a placeholder comment: Phrases like hmm, that’s a good question can be
useful to give you a few moments to gather your thoughts.

■ Consider the interview as a conversation: Try to maintain eye contact and

remember they are probably anxious to make a good impression too.

■ Utilise the STOP method: Stop what you are doing and focus your thoughts. Take
a few deep breaths, observe how your body is feeling and then proceed.

■ Smile: Smiling really does make you feel more confident, and also gives the
interviewer a better impression of you.

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Discuss

Discuss the importance of each of these practices when handling

questions in a job interview.

staying calm

smiling

responding with confidence

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Mind blank

You’ve been asked a question by an interviewer and your mind has

gone blank. You are not sure what to answer.

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Listen carefully

The next slide will test your listening comprehension.

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Listen carefully

Listen carefully to the sample from the interview being read by your
teacher.
Take notes on what the candidate does well and what they could
improve on for next time.

did well could improve

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Discuss

Now discuss your notes with

your teacher or classmates.

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Reflect on the lesson

Take a moment to review any new

vocabulary, phrases, language
structures or grammar points you have
come across for the first time in this
lesson.

Review them with your teacher one more

time to make sure you don’t forget!

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Answer key

1c, 2d, 3a, 4b

Exercise p. 8

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29 www.lingoda.com
Exercise p. 25
Interviewer: Welcome to the interview! Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Applicant: I’m a recent graduate from Newtown Tech College. I’ve been
working as an intern in some visionary startup companies and I’m now looking
for a company with a shared vision to support them in their mission.
Interviewer: How would you add value to our company?
Applicant: During my experience as an intern I regularly worked overtime on
a number of personal projects which ended up securing new funding and
opportunities for the company.
Interviewer: That’s great. What do you think is your greatest weakness?
Applicant: I don’t have many that are relevant for this position. I can work too
hard sometimes.
Interviewer: OK, you will be sure to hear from us. Do you have any questions
for us?
Applicant: No, I can’t think of any. Thank you. When can I expect to hear from
you?
Transcription
Homework

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Tricky questions

Write down three questions mentioned in the lesson that you

think would be the hardest to answer.
Practise writing a successful response to each of them.

My biggest weakness is…

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Write an e-mail

Write an e-mail to a friend giving them tips about answering

tricky questions for an upcoming interview.

– □ ×

To: johnny@lingoda.com

Subject: Answering tricky questions in your interview

Hey Johnny,

Good luck in your interview next week. I thought I would send you some tips on
how to answer tricky questions if they come up.

Firstly…

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